This study was conducted to analyze the differences in the news coverage of public education by a state and local newspaper, to ascertain if trends exist in the coverage of topics, and if the coverage is negative, positive, or neutral. All issues of The Dallas Morning News and The Piano Star Courier from the years 1988 and 1993 were evaluated. All articles about public education (with the exception of athletics, obituaries, and advertisements) were evaluated using a content analysis form. The content analysis form provided information for classifying all articles. Information was tallied for the number of articles and column inches by newspaper and category. Findings indicated a number of differences between the two newspapers in 1988 and 1993. The Dallas Morning News increased the number of articles and column inches of space it committed to the coverage of public education from 1988 to 1993. During the same period The Piano Star Courier reduced both the number of articles and column inches of space which it used for the topic of education. The Piano Star Courier began publishing editions on only five of the seven days per week in February, 1993. The Dallas Morning News reduced its local coverage and increased its coverage of state and national education topics during the same period. The change in coverage was shown through the increased number of articles and space allocated to state and national topics. Changes also occurred in the number of negative articles published by the newspapers. The Dallas Morning News increased the number of negative articles as it focused on state and national news. The Piano Star Courier reduced the number of negative articles as it focused on local topics. The findings also indicate that certain categories of articles are more likely to present education in a positive manner. Local …
The problem of this study was to determine the difference in attitude and anxieties toward the teaching profession of beginning teachers entering public education in Texas who have been through a semester-long intern program as opposed to those who have gone through a traditional eight-week student teaching program. Purposes of the study were to provide assessment data for planning and delivering preservice training experiences to prospective teachers, to compare similarities and differences in the attitudes of prospective teachers who have been through the intern program with those who have been in traditional student teaching, and to provide useful information to colleges and universities concerning the effectiveness of their teacher education programs. The targeted study groups were 22 fall semester interns and a comparison group of 27 fall semester traditional student teachers. All participants were seeking secondary certification. The study was conducted in the fall of 1994. The groups were matched according to gender, chronological age, race designation, grade-point-average, and level of family income. In summary, the findings of this study indicate that only two of the six research questions proved to be statistically significant. It is interesting to note, however, that individually a significant percentage of both of the groups showed a reduction in anxiety and a significant percentage of both groups showed a reduced positive attitude toward teaching as a profession. It is only for the student teachers, however, that the results were statistically significant for both tests.
This qualitative research study investigated the role of the principal in implementing change in the professional development school (PDS). The study involved 7 elementary schools and 4 school-university collaboratives in the Texas network of 17 Centers for Professional Development and Technology (CPDTs). The research questions focused on the role, leadership, and management concerns of the PDS principal.
The problem of this study was to determine the change in public support which would occur due to a public school district's going through a strategic planning process and then the implementation of specific action plans. The purpose of the study was to demonstrate that the public support necessary to assure adequate funding for the district's programs could be gained by involving the community in a broad-based planning effort and by demonstrating a concerted effort to implement the actions required by the plan.
Strategic planning practices and superintendents' opinions regarding the effectiveness of strategic planning are different among small, medium, and large Texas independent school districts. This study sought to find areas of agreement and areas of disagreement among school district superintendents relating to the practice and effectiveness of strategic planning. Strategic planning practices examined include the development of a mission statement, operating plan, and budget; involvement of stakeholders, and strategic planning logistics. A stratified random sample of 96 superintendents each from small, medium, and large school districts was selected from a population of 1,042 school districts. Data was also collected and reported from the 7 mega school districts. Questionnaires were sent to 295 superintendents and 246 (83.4%) were returned. The questionnaire contained nine questions relating to 19 strategic planning practices and a five-part question relating to the effectiveness of strategic planning. The data was analyzed using Crosstabs, Chi-square, and one-way ANOVA statistics. The level of significance was established a priori at .05. School district size was an independent variable for six strategic planning practices of small, medium, and large school districts. Significant differences were found regarding (a) whether outside consultants were employed to assist with the district's strategic planning, (b) whether central office administrators participated in the district's planning process, (c) whether a sequence of steps was followed with a time frame for each step in the district's planning process, (d) whether someone other than the superintendent was responsible for the district's planning, (e) whether school district support staff participated in the district's planning process, and (f) whether students participated in the district's planning process. Also, a significant difference was found between large school district superintendents' and small school district superintendents' ratings of the effectiveness of strategic planning for improving management effectiveness. Finally, a correlation was observed between superintendents' ratings of strategic …
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